Chance Encounters of the Most Unexpected Kind
by forestwife
Summary: AU. 8th Doctor. Rose Tyler was making the most of an ordinary life in another universe. But then in a twist of fate she meets a man reading a book that hasn’t been written yet… and who answers to the call of ‘Doctor’. Bad summary, please R&R!


Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who... if I did, d'you really think I'd be writing this? C'mon, think people, think!

Chance Encounters of the Most Unexpected Kind

Rose Tyler was moving on with her life.

She still missed the Doctor. How could she not? He'd been a huge part of her life. He'd changed her; in the way she acted, in the way she saw the world, in everything. And she'd loved him. She'd loved him so much…

She still thought about the Doctor too. Moving on didn't mean forgetting. There wasn't a day that went by when she didn't think about him, and what he'd say if he saw this, or if he heard that. And every day she'd wish that she could see him again, just once more, with his messy brown hair, his suit with converses, his deep brown eyes and his cheeky grin that could make her smile no matter her mood.

But she was moving on. There was no way that her job at Torchwood could ever compare to the life she'd had with the Doctor, but she was doing something worthwhile, she was helping people, and that was good enough for her.

On her way home one evening, Rose was rooting around in her bag looking for her phone, and not really looking where she was going, when she collided with someone coming down the pavement the other way.

She began to apologise to the man, but he cut across her, "I'm so sorry. Completely my fault, I wasn't looking where I was going."

He gestured to the open book in his hand, "Wonderful as they are, I'm afraid that in cases like these, Ms Rowling's books are somewhat of a health and safety hazard."

And with that, the man smiled dreamily at her, said, "Good day," and continued on his way down the street.

Rose stared after him. He had to have been one of the strangest men she had ever met… at least, in this universe anyway. He'd had shoulder length curly brown hair and an outfit that wouldn't have looked out of place in the Edwardian era. Had the man been going to the theatre, he might've blended in, but in the middle of the day on the streets of London? He stuck out like a sore thumb.

As she watched his steadily retreating back (occasionally bumping into people as he went), Rose realised that the man's state of dress hadn't been the strangest thing about him. The book he'd been reading had been a Harry Potter book, which in itself was not strange, except that it had been 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows', J.K Rowling's 7th and final novel in the series. In Rose's own world, that wouldn't have been anything unusual either, but it seemed that in this world, J.K had been a bit behind, and the 5th book had been the most recently published.

That was what was so odd. The man had been reading a book that hadn't even been written yet! And there was only one man that Rose knew of who could accomplish an amazing feat like that…

Coming to her senses (or possibly losing them), Rose sprinted off down the street after the man, spotting him in the distance turning a corner off the main street.

"Hey, wait!" she called, in the vain hope he would hear her… and know that the call was meant for him.

Rounding the corner, Rose spotted him again, further down the road… too far.

"Doctor!" she shouted, taking the risk that it wouldn't be him.

To her relief, and maybe even her shock, the curly haired man slowly turned and looked vaguely in her direction for whoever it was calling him.

Seeing her running towards him, the Doctor offered a small, perplexed smile and raised a hand in greeting, probably wondering all the while who on Earth she was, and how she knew his name.

Reaching him, Rose stood for a minute, trying to get her breath back, (she was out of practice with the whole running thing). Then she stuttered, "It's you, it's really you!"

"Yes, I'm me," the Doctor agreed amiably, not phased by this strange confrontation, "And you're you, and speaking of... have we met? Because I'm sure I'd remember--"

"Not exactly," Rose answered, her initial elation at finding the Doctor fading slightly on the realisation that while this was _the_ Doctor, it wasn't _her_ Doctor. "I'm Rose, and I'm umm," she continued, "from another world, a parallel Earth. And I travelled with you... well, another you... for a while."

She paused in her explanation, somehow sure that she was making no sense, and that the Doctor would laugh at her. But he surprised her by asking, "And how did you come to be trapped in _this_ universe, Rose Tyler."

"It's a long story," Rose said, "But it involved, Daleks, Cybermen, void stuff and teleports."

"Sounds exciting," the Doctor commented.

"Yeah," Rose agreed. But then something dawned on her, "How did you know my surname was Tyler? I never told you that?"

The Doctor looked at her in mild confusion, before a suitably abashed look replaced it. "Yes, some of my people are a little telepathic. I try to respect people's privacy, but in this particular regeneration I find it sometimes gets away from me a bit. But don't worry, I never hear much... jelly baby?"

And he held out a brown paper bag, apparently full of jelly babies. Rose grinned bemusedly and took one. It seemed that the Doctor had always been eccentric and very... individual, no matter what universe he was in, or what regeneration. It was a little strange to think that he was able to hear her thoughts whenever he wanted, but then he _had_ said that he respected people's privacy, and she had seen much weirder things during her time with _her_ Doctor.

The Doctor chewed thoughtfully on his own jelly baby and asked, "So what am I like in your universe?"

Rose grinned as she imagined her Doctor's face, "Well, he's very energetic—hyperactive even. He likes a bananas... a lot. He talks a lot, and usually at about 90mph. He wears a pinstriped suit, with converses—"

At this, the Doctor in front of her looked horrified, "How ghastly!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, he definately has his own style," Rose said, thinking of the way his hair would always stand straight up off his head, especially after he'd been running his hands through it, and about the way his eyes would brighten behind his glasses at their latest new discovery, like a child in a sweet shop. She thought about how he'd perch his glasses on his nose, his tongue slightly stuck out, his brow furrowed as he worked on the TARDIS, and the alternative times when he'd just get a hammer and whack the console. He was unique, there was no doubt about that.

An awkward silence followed Rose's comment, the shadow of her Doctor falling over their conversation. It was only broken when the Doctor said, slightly hesitantly, "Well, I was just on my way back to the TARDIS. I was going to stop off at Hyperia before a trip home."

"Oh, right," Rose said, her heart sinking, another Doctor was leaving her. "I'll just be going then. Have a good trip."

She'd begun to turn away when she felt a hand slip through hers and the Doctor's soft voice said, "I was wondering if you might—I mean, I was hoping—Have you ever been to Hyperia?"

Rose shook her head, temporarily struck dumb. Was this Doctor really saying what she thought he was?

"Would you like to?" the Doctor smilled.

A grin broke out on Rose's face, and she looked down at where the Doctor's hand was joined with hers. It fit. Just like both of the other Doctor's she'd travelled with had. They'd all been different, and this one even more so. And none of their hands ever fit quite the same, but it still fit hers like no one else's ever would.

"I'd love to," she replied.

And with that, Rose and the Doctor made there way back to the TARDIS, ready for another adventure.

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A/N: So, what did you think? This idea first popped into my head several months ago on my holiday in Spain (at about 2 in the morning) and the rest of it was finished just now, on my new laptop! (how exciting is that!) which doesn't seem to have spellcheck yet... hmm... so, apologies for any and all typos!

I know this was a bit sappy, but I love the 8th Doctor (though not as much as 10) and I still can't stand the thought of Rose in her alternate reality, without a Doctor!

Please review!


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